Combating Opposition

In Acts 13 we have a shift, we are no longer in Jerusalem or in Israel, now we are in the church in Antioch. It is now about four years since the events of Acts 12 and the church in Antioch is thriving and growing. Verse 1 Luke writes, "Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul."

We have here prophets and teachers, and Luke provides a list of names of who were the prominent prophets and teachers. Now whatever the reason is for the list of men being in the order that it is no one knows people only speculate. Which ones were prophets and which ones were teachers and which ones were both we don't know except for Saul, who is both a prophet and teacher. I do want to point out a few things in this verse that are interesting.

First of all three of these names are only mentioned here and nowhere else. It is believed that Luke was from Antioch so it is possible that he knew these men personally but no one really knows why they are mentioned. The man named Manaen though is interesting, he was brought up or raised with Herod the tetrarch. This is the Herod who beheaded John the Baptist and who was governor of Judea when Jesus was crucified. Manaen grew up with him, Manaen is of nobility, he is a wealthy man and at one point ran with the social elite. He could very well have been in the same room with Herod the night John the Baptist was beheaded. People of all walks of life and from all kinds of backgrounds are becoming a huge part of the church and no one is better then another.

Except here is the other very important part of this list. Notice the bookends to the list. Barnabas is first on the list and Saul is last on the list. Now Barnabas was selected by the Apostels for special service and Barnabas was also selected by the church council to go to Antioch to examine what was going on there because this gentiles were receiving the gospel message. So Barnabas does seems to be prominent as a leader in this church. Then we have Saul who was called by the resurrected Jesus for a special task, to be the apostle to the gentiles. So they naturally book end this list. But notice who is first and who is last. This is important as this account unfolds. You will see as we continue.

In verse 2 we find these men doing something that is very important. They are praying and fasting. This is the first component to Combating Opposition, Prayer.

Prayer

Do you make prayer a priority in your life?

Is God the focus of your prayer life?

Do you pray daily for the gospel to spread and that you will spread the gospel? Be specific.

These leaders were in a time of ministering to the Lord, it was some worship they were doing, this is a little vague. We don't know exactly what they were doing and what this entailed. Some believe these men were celebrating the feast of Atonement because in it there is a day of fasting but Luke typically mentions when they were celebrating a feast and there is no mention of that here. What it appears to be is a time of the leadership praying and fasting and as there is a call by the Holy Spirit here it is a pray of what next. These men are seeking guidance in what to do. It has been about four years. The gospel has spread through out this city. The have established the church here in Antioch and there is a regular order of service. These men are the leadership but they are not called elders here, they are in actuality the pastors of the church, pastor will eventually take the place of prophet, because the pastor will not only care for the spiritual well-being of the people but also provide them with the Word of God, the explanation of God's truth.

So here we have these men looking for guidance and leading from God. They want to know what to do so they go to God in prayer and they fast. There is no detail as to how long the fast was just that they did so. Through prayer they were given a very specific message from the Holy Spirit, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them." The time of prayer and fasting reveals God's plan to them. Now I know we don't receive such clear verbal instructions anymore today, but this doesn't mean God won't give us guidance if we pray for it. God is always there to guide we just need to ask and listen. James tells us that if we lack something then what we need to do is ask, in faith and God will grant us wisdom.

James 1:5 NASB95

5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

When I was in seminary and the time came to figure out where to go, we prayed and we waited on God to see what He had in store for us. Prayer is important it is crucial and when it comes to go out and sharing the gospel, it begins with prayer, you know why? Because there are a lot of obstacles out there. The first one being your own insecurities. So pray continuously for the Lord to use you, for His Spirit to control you when the time comes for Him to give you that push for Him to give you discernment of when to speak and when to stop. Don't think they didn't know there would be opposition. They knew there would be that is why they began with prayer.

After the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul, they brought this to the church and the church prayed and fasted for them and laid their hands on them, which is a commissioning to go out to do the work God has called them to do. When I graduated from seminary the elders of the Grace church along with the pastor and my professors laid hands on all the gradates and prayed over them. They have always done this and they still do this now. It is a commissioning and they let us know that we would face opposition and the prayer of commissioning was an important component to our going out into the world and to our various ministries with one common goal, make disciples. Pray is always where we begin it should never be an after thought and it can't be overlooked. You need to have a regular practice of prayer in you life. Not just a thanks for this day, thank you for this food, but a time of pouring your heart to God and relinquishing any perceived control over your life you think you have because you have no control. Pray, true deep prayer is a denial of self and a reliance on God. How often do you pray, and what do you pray for when you pray. How much of your prayer is about yourself and what you want, how much of your prayer is about God and what He wants? How much of your prayer is about letting go of this world and grappling with the eternal? This is why prayer is the first component in our combating opposition. Jesus provide the model of prayer for us and both Matthew and Luke have recorded it for us.

Matthew 6:9–13 NASB95

9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’

This is how we should pray, recognizing God's character His position, His work, His will, His provision, His forgiveness. Prayer is all about God and not about me. That is why it is the first component and the second component flows nicely from the first. The second component is Willingness.

Willingness

Are you willing to go our and spread the gospel message or do you just answer a call?

Verse 4 and 5 we read, "So, being sent out be the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 when they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper." So here we have them being sent out. The One who is credited with sending them out is not the church of Antioch it is not the prophets and the teachers, but the Holy Spirit Himself. This is important to understand when it comes to going out and giving the gospel. This is important to understand when it comes to missionaries going into dangerous countries, like Turkey, North Korea, China and some we don't even realize like France which has an rapidly growing Muslim population. The people who go into these countries to share the gospel and to plant church know the dangers but they also know that they are not being sent their by a church or by pastors, but they are being sent there by the Holy Spirit. He has provided the call and Barnabas and Saul didn't just answer the call but they were willing to go. There is a difference between answering a call and being willing.

Answering a call can be a reluctant answer. Jonah for example, God called him to go to Nineveh to give them the gospel. Once God Called him he knew exactly what he had to do, go in the opposite direction and run away. He got on a boat to sail as far from Nineveh as possible. Then on the boat, he went down into the hull and went to sleep, again hiding. It wasn't until he was thrown overboard and spent a couple of days in the belly of a big fish before he realized God wanted him to do this. So Jonah prayed, repented, was spit out on land and he answered the call. Still he wasn't willing to go, because in the end of the story of Jonah he sat there angry at the fact God saved those people. That isn't willingness it is an answer to the call but it isn't willingness to see God's sovereign plan at work. Willingness is sticking it out until the end. Not giving up on what God has planned and seeking God's ambitions and not your own.

Genesis 12:1–5 NASB95

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” 4 So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan.

Abram was willing, God said go and he went. Moses, didn't just answer a call, even though he was reluctant at first, he was willing because he stuck it out in the end. And boy it wasn't easy for either one of them, but the only reason why they kept on going is because they were willing to follow God and to Go anyway He told them. Barnabas and Saul are willing also. They are willing to leave the comfort of the Antioch church and go down to the mouth of the river hop on a boat and sail to Cyprus. They don't put up a fight and they are not answering a call they are willing to go where ever the Lord leads them even to death which is the outcome for Saul.

Don't think they don't know what was in store for them. Don't think they hadn't counted the cost? They did, Remember Saul's background, remember his relationship with the church in Israel and his relationship to Stephen's murder. To say Saul was naive to the cost would mean he would have had to have his memory wiped clean. No he remembered he knew what was in store for them. And Barnabas going along with Saul, Saul is a constant reminder of the dangers that lie ahead but they are still willing to go. Because this isn't their mission but it is God's mission, God's work that they have been called to do.

Now when they arrived in Cyprus they went along the southern shore and they went as was Jesus' custom and now has become the custom of Saul as well to go to the synagogues and proclaim the word of God to them.

They began here in Salamis, and they made their way around to the other side of the island. Now they island is about 150 miles long from tip to tip. So this trek is about 100 miles or so. This would be the equivalent of us getting up and walking along the coast line up to Manhattan. Along the way we would stop in towns and go to the synagogues and proclaim the word of God. The focus is still the synagogues and the Jews.